Civil War Shipwrecks

The Florida Aquarium is charting new territory. With a state grant money, Aquarium scientific divers are looking at the bottom of the bay.

What lies beneath?

That is exactly what Billy Ray Morris, primary investigator and marine archaeologist, wants to know.

"People will be shocked to find out what's under the water," says Morris. "We know there are several Civil War era shipwrecks in the waters around Tampa so we'll be looking for those first."

One of these shipwrecks, the USS Narcissus, sank off the coast of Egmont Key on January 4, 1866. All 26 Union sailors on board went down with the ship when the boiler exploded after the ship rolled on a shoal. On January 20th, 2015 the state of Florida has named the USS Narcissus the 12th State Underwater Archaeological Preserve making is available for divers around the world to safely explore.

Learn more about the USS Narcissus by watching the video produced by our partners the Shark Brothers:

Housed at The Florida Aquarium, the Friends of Narcissusgroup is a community organization established to create public awareness about the wreck site of the USS Narcissus. For more information about this group and how you can get involved, click HERE.